No.1 for Interviews - Marian Keyes
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Marian Keyes is an award-winning author from Limerick. She originally studied accountancy and only began writing 15 years ago.
Her first novel, Watermelon, was picked up instantly by a publisher and was published in 1995. The novel was an instant success and is now published in 33 different languages.
She has had repeated success with her subsequent books Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, Rachel’s Holiday, Last Chance Saloon, Sushi for Beginners, Angels, The Other Side of the Story, This Charming Man and The Brightest Star in the Sky. Marian currently lives in Dún Laoghaire with her husband Tony. Marian had a much publicised battle with her alcohol addiction.
I get my inspiration from human beings. Just from our uniqueness and incredible diversity. We present one side of ourselves to the outside world but behind that facade, there is a whole universe going on. For me, being an author is about getting into those secret places.
I know it sounds a bit swotty but I spend a lot of time developing my characters. I spend a long time on them because I want the characters to be as real to me as my own friends are. I know when I haven’t got it right because the characters are only two-dimensional.
A lot of the time I struggle with knowing I have it wrong but I keep sticking with it – I will give them more of a past life, everything from their first boyfriend, their favourite colour, even their birth sign all make them more real for me. Even if that information doesn’t make it in the book it is vital to me to make them seem real.
I know some writers use boards and character files but for me my characters are in my head, which sounds a bit insane and I suppose I am a bit insane but that is where they live for me.
My husband Tony does the first read of my book. He is quite honest, but I am so afraid of criticism I make sure the book is as perfect as possible before I show anyone. There are times I am stuck and I will tell him and I will say, “Look at what is going on here.”
He is honest, but I suppose he is kind too. He wouldn’t go sticking the knife in just for the laugh as he knows how sensitive I am, and indeed I suppose any writer is about their work. Although my books are aimed at women on the most part Tony gets the sense of humour, he does laugh!
To me chick lit is the work of post-feminist women and it is meant to be pink and fluffy. But I write for women and about women, and if people want to call my books chick-lit, then whatever – walk away. I know the worth of my books and they aren’t pink and fluffy, there is depth and substance. I tackle difficult issues.
There is nothing wrong with pink and fluffy as long as it is balanced. When I was younger the label chick-lit really annoyed me because I felt misrepresented but now I think that enough people know what I write about, and they get me. Journalists can call me chick-lit but enough people read me and understand me to know that isn’t what I am about.
I don’t base my characters on real people – I think that would be so mean. Although quite often people will think a character or situation is based on them. But I would never do that, honest to God I wouldn’t, besides I think it is more fun to make it up.
Because I come from a big family people often think that I base the Walsh family [a large family that features in four novels] on my own. There are five people in my family too, although in my family there are two boys and three girls.
It’s not like any one character is based on a real person, but obviously I could bring the dynamics from a big family. Things like the squabbling and fights over the chocolate, and the accusations of ‘who ate all the biscuits?’ are things I can relate to. There is a real warmth in a big family – and I think that everyone is so honest.
With my later books, the ones after Watermelon, I had to go and really research the topics, which is hard for me as I am a bad question asker – I really don’t like probing. In fact, sometimes I take a friend to ask the difficult questions, the ones I feel uncomfortable asking.
In some respects Brightest Star in the Sky was straightforward as I spoke to female taxi drivers and I went out on the town a few times with a group of Polish lads. Other themes in my books were more challenging like Alzheimer’s and dementia.
When I wrote about the music industry, that was quite easy – I know someone who does PR in the industry so she was great and gave me lots of information. So it is really a question of finding the right people and then asking the right questions.
Addictions are often a running them in my books. Some I researched by living them, I am sure everyone knows about my much-publicised battle with alcoholism. But I don’t agree with using my books as my personal therapy ground – I didn’t write about alcoholism until I was sober a few years, I had been to rehab and Alcoholics Anonymous, so by that point I was very comfortable with it. I wrote about addiction in my third and ninth novel. For me it was the easiest thing to write about – it reads quite harrowing but for me it wasn’t difficult.
I found the hardest book to write was This Charming Man. Whereas, my first book, Watermelon, was really easy – I didn’t have a clue what I was doing I was just like ‘Woo hoo! I will write this! And this and... who cares? I will just put it all in!’
I was very lucky the first publisher I sent the book to gave me a contract – that isn’t me showing off, I know that I was abnormally lucky. My heart breaks for the talented people out there who are struggling to get published because I know of so many. It must be the most frustrating situation to be in.
I don’t have any children and I never really thought about adopting. I did for a short while but I didn’t want to adopt because of how I felt about my husband. Because I didn’t want any baby – I wanted it to be his baby. So you know, we are grand as we are...
People ask if I would like my books to be made into films but och God, I don’t know! Poor old Rachel’s Holiday has been under option for 11 years! As have another couple in fact. It is something I never think about because I have no power in that world and I would hate to be disappointed.
I like what I do. I am sorry to be so dull! I started a new book; I would just like to keep writing books. It normally it takes about two years. I wish I was faster but I am not. I have never started and abandoned a book but I have had periods of thinking, ‘Oh my God this isn’t working,’ but I have to go back and rewrite the bit before. The fear is fairly constant.
I would prefer not to read reviews because they wreck your head. If they are good I get all giddy but I am better off thinking I wrote a book I was proud of and I hope people enjoy it. If they don’t then that is their right.
Tel: 0141 353 2222 Fax: 0141 332 3839 Email: sales@psp.uk.net Call may be monitored or recorded for training purposes
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